Déformation professionnelle

Déformation professionnelle (French: [defɔʁmasjɔ̃ pʁɔfɛsjɔnɛl]) is a tendency to look at things from the point of view of one's own profession or special expertise, rather than from a broader or humane perspective. It is often translated as "professional deformation" or "job conditioning", though French déformation can also be translated as "distortion". The implication is that professional training, and its related socialization, often result in a distortion of the way one views the world.[1] Nobel laureate Alexis Carrel observed, "Every specialist, owing to a well-known professional bias, believes that he understands the entire human being, while in reality he only grasps a tiny part of him."[2]

^Robert K. MertonSocial Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1957, p. 198: "The transition to a study of the negative aspects of bureaucracy is afforded by the application of Veblen's concept of 'trained incapacity', Dewey’s notion of 'occupational psychosis' or Warnotte's view of 'professional deformation'."[1]